Memorial Cup 2013

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And the Memorial Cup 2013 goes to .... Sask

[sbtatter]

Well, that's one way to get around the annual Blades playoff choke!

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I wonder if it is a case of money beyond anything else. If you can't guarantee the most $$ you are a step behind. 15,000 seats vs 7,000 seats. Tough for the mid sized to compete let alone the small. I guess it is up to Calgary or Edmonton to bring it back to Alberta. 1974 was a LONG time ago and I believe it was Calgary then..

[SectionNDeserter]

I wonder if it is a case of money beyond anything else.I think everything is considered when they make the selection, and Saskatoon had a very competitive team last season, and are still competitive this season, and will probably be competitive next season. I think the added size of the venue is just the icing on the cake.

Timing is everything, and last season would have been ideal for Red Deer to host, when they had a lot more firepower, as well as a goaltender capable of winning games almost on his own. They would have had to add a lot fewer upgrades to the team last season to be a powerhouse team. Unfortunately it wasn't the WHL's year to host the cup.

[Trevor]

I wonder if it is a case of money beyond anything else. If you can't guarantee the most $$ you are a step behind. 15,000 seats vs 7,000 seats. Tough for the mid sized to compete let alone the small. I guess it is up to Calgary or Edmonton to bring it back to Alberta. 1974 was a LONG time ago and I believe it was Calgary then..

You'll never see either Calgary or Edmonton host, because they aren't the primary tenant of their respective buildings. They can't 100% guarantee their building will be available in a years time.

[RebsGuy17]

The sad thing is that from what I heard, the Rebels and the City exhausted themselves pretty heavily in trying to get this bid, and aren't crazy about making another one any time soon.

It's up to Lethbridge or Med Hat. Lethbridge will need a few seasons to build up to be ready for any type of run, and as long as they have that dump of a rink in the Hat...

Could be 2074 before we see the Memorial Cup 'round these parts again.

[Brandon]

The sad thing is that from what I heard, the Rebels and the City exhausted themselves pretty heavily in trying to get this bid, and aren't crazy about making another one any time soon.

It's up to Lethbridge or Med Hat. Lethbridge will need a few seasons to build up to be ready for any type of run, and as long as they have that dump of a rink in the Hat...

Could be 2074 before we see the Memorial Cup 'round these parts again.


Lethbridge bid for a few in a row and was likewise tired of the game. I think Red Deer deserved a shot at this one, and it would have been right for it to be there but Toontown had the $$$$ promise that Red Deer couldn't match. I don't think Saskatoon is anymore a guarantee to be competitive next year than Red Deer is. Also with Molleken trading to load up, odds are they will get worse.

I don't think its fair to say Calgary can't 100% guarantee the building. I would love a memorial cup here in Calgary and lets face it the Flames are getting to old to be competitive and don't have a whole lot of talent in the cupboards to restock with. The Hitmen can guarantee the Flames won't be in the 3rd round of the NHL playoffs for a very long time.

[wango tango]

I don't think Saskatoon is anymore a guarantee to be competitive next year than Red Deer is. Also with Molleken trading to load up, odds are they will get worse.

you're right saskatoon, red deer, and kelowna all made the shortlist over lethbridge, and prince george because the whl governors believed those three teams had the best chance of being competitive in the memorial cup tournament.


I don't think its fair to say Calgary can't 100% guarantee the building. I would love a memorial cup here in Calgary and lets face it the Flames are getting to old to be competitive and don't have a whole lot of talent in the cupboards to restock with. The Hitmen can guarantee the Flames won't be in the 3rd round of the NHL playoffs for a very long time.

it's absolutely fair, because it's absolutely true. calgary and edmonton cannot 100% guarantee building availability, no matter how realistic or not the flames and oilers chances of going deep in the playoffs are. and the building guarantee part of bidding is absolute. so the hitmen and oil kings cannot bid which is too bad for junior fans in those cities.

put yourself in the shoes of fans from the u.s. division. it's unreasonable for any u.s. chl team to put in a bid because of current sponsorship agreements.

i hope the red deer group bids again. i just don't know if it is feasible for 2016 or not. who knows what changes between now and then. i'd guess a team from b.c. would bid, and probably get the event as at that time the last two whl memorial cup hosts (brandon and saskatoon) would then have come from the eastern conference.

reading around online sounds like saskatoons bid absolutely blew kelowna and red deer out of the water. the majority of governors voted for saskatoon immediately, making a second ballot unnecessary, that's how big a difference it was between saskatoon's 'guarantees' and kelowna and red deer's 'projections.'

it also sounds like saskatoon brought in more heavy hitters for their bid, as they had a provincial cabinet minister, ceo of a multi-billion $ company, and city mayor all there pitching for the city.

[Brandon]

it's absolutely fair, because it's absolutely true. calgary and edmonton cannot 100% guarantee building availability, no matter how realistic or not the flames and oilers chances of going deep in the playoffs are. and the building guarantee part of bidding is absolute. so the hitmen and oil kings cannot bid which is too bad for junior fans in those cities.

p.


You are much too serious.

[Trav]

Brandon, not sure how u can say the Blades will get worse when their a young team this season and are doing pretty good so far, they can have as many as 20 of these same players next year as well. Not bad for a team that gave to much for Schenn

[Hitmen1]

Based on what I've heard from a couple of people here in Red Deer who are somewhat close to the Rebels:
1-the Rebels had lots of government $ in their bid as well. Maybe not as much as Saskatoon but a good chunk of cash.
2-the WHL liked Saskatoon because of the size of the building, obviously, bigger arena, more butts in seats equals big money
3-The fact that the Blades can return 20 players next year made a big difference.